


The Trouble With Fairies

by Aibohp



Series: Things Are Getting Weird [10]
Category: Gravity Falls, Rick and Morty
Genre: Animal Transformation, Blood, Bonding, Dark, Fae & Fairies, Gen, Gore, Magic, Prophetic Visions, Temporary Character Death, adventures gone awry, super vague Dipper/Morty, things got out of hand and turned kinda dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-29 04:35:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6359533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aibohp/pseuds/Aibohp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Morty had been looking forward to being left alone all day with no strange surprises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ya Done Goofed

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to try and write something for the three that I haven't been paying much attention to, which is funny because I was thinking Dipper, Mabel, and Morty would take the main stage in this when I first started writing. Anyway, updates will be slower with this one because writing for Ford, Dipper, and Morty is proving to be more difficult for me than Stan, Mabel, and Rick.

The house was silent as Morty slouched down on the couch, lazing around the shack in nothing but his boxers. It was a rare chance considering how full the house typically was. But Stan, Mabel, and Rick had gone off with Pacifica to confront her parents about getting her things out of the house since they weren’t allowing her to stay at home. Dipper and Ford were out in the woods, looking for something or other. Morty had begged out of both activities for a couple reasons. One, he got plenty of adventures out of Rick and was actually enjoying his nice, safe Summer so far. Two, not even Dipper was going with Mabel and Pacifica and he actually _knew_ the blonde. He felt bad for her but he didn’t feel it was his place to go with them. So, after everyone left, he spent half an hour in bed with nothing but shame-inducing thoughts about the twins and his left hand for company; and then used the other half to try and scrub away that shame in the shower. 

As he scrolled through his newsfeed on Facebook, morty noted that when everyone was gone the shack was quiet peaceful. That is, it was, until a skype call started to come through on his laptop. Even with its attempts at a somewhat melodic ring, the sound was still loud and obtrusive in the near silence in the room. If not for his extensive knowledge of his terribly short contact list, he would have ignored it. Chances were, however, that it was Summer. Of course he answered. 

“What up,” he asked as his sister’s face appeared on the screen. 

“Oh. My. God! Mom and Dad are driving me insane,” she snapped with a little growl as she leaned back in her chair. Around the edges of the camera’s view he could see parts of her room. “I swear they are fighting nonstop and since you ‘don’t have any cell reception’,” her hair came loose and fell around her head in messy waves and her hands moved to either side of her face as crunched her fingers in little air quotes. She’d taken to braiding it back lately. “They take turns calling me to complain about one another. I don’t know how you live there.” 

“I-it’s not so bad. Dad doesn’t try to talk to me much anymore because I-I never take his side. The worst thing about talking to Mom isn’t the bitching, it’s the--th drunken crying,” Morty wrinkled his nose, remembering one of the times his mother had stumbled into his room, crying and tripping all over herself as she fell down in his bed and started asking if he hated her. It had been one of the most uncomfortable and sad moments in his life. 

“Ugh, you know you’re right,” Summer said, wrinkling her nose. “I’d take the bitching any day. I’m so glad I finally moved out.” With a sigh she flung her head forward, disappearing from view for a moment. She may have moved out but her room looked almost the same, save for the color of the walls and position of furniture, what little she had. Her apartment was tiny but apparently better than roommates. “So,” she popped back up with a grin. “I’ve been seeing all these pictures of you on faaaaaaceboooook! You’re making friends out there in Oregon?! Who’s the foxy redhead in that one pic!” 

“Th-that’s Wendy and you know I’m--I’m going to tell her you called her foxy, right? Send her right to your facebook and everything,” he joked, making Summer roll her eyes and snort. 

“Send her my way, bitch! I’m not afraid of a little fire crotch! Besides, my current fuckbuddy is getting too clingy. Gonna have to cut him loose soon,” she huffed. Morty couldn’t help but laugh. She reminded him so much of Rick sometimes that it was creepy. 

“You--you know, I don’t know why Rick takes me on adventures so often when you two are so alike,” he said with a little smile. Summer barked out a laugh and slouched back in her chair, twisting it from side to side. 

“We would die! That’s why. We’re too much alike,” she shook her head a little and grinned. “He needs more of a moral compass than a party buddy for the type of shit you guys get into. Now tell me about the other two twerps I keep seeing you in pictures with,” Summer demanded, lifting her hands and lacing her fingers behind her head so that they cradled her skull. 

“Ah… um. That--That’s Mabel and Dipper. Th-they’re pretty cool,” Morty stuttered, cheeks turning a little pink. Summer’s eyes narrowed. “They--They’re Stan’s great niece and nephew, twins. I-I-I…. They’re um… They’re… God damn it,” he babbled, covering his face with his hands as his older sister started to hoot and cackle. 

“Ooooh! You have a crush on one of them! I bet it’s Mabel, right!? She’s cute!” Peeking through his fingers, Morty saw the woman bouncing up and down in her chair. “You try and hit on her yet?! Does her brother know?! Come on! Tell me, tell me, tell me!” 

Morty could practically feel his ears turning red. 

“Ugh! No! I-I-I--I mean yes? I mean--I mean yes. I have a little crush on Mabel! She’s cute. Both her and Dipper are. Sh-she--She I th-think she’s trying to...um…to get together w-with this girl so um. It--It’s not really an issue,” he said, struggling to get each word out. He finally dropped his hands, looking up at the screen to see his sister staring at him with narrowed eyes. _Shit._

“You said Dipper was cute too?” _,Double shit_. Her eyes squinched shut a little more and then got huge. “Morty are you saying you like--”

Thankfully before she could finish speaking and send her brother into a tizzy the back door flew open. Ford came stumbling in with something cupped against his chest in one hand and Dipper’s bag in the other. The older man hacked and coughed as he stomped past. The living room door and made a harsh right toward the kitchen. He looked like he was covered in glitter and scratches all over his face and hands. 

“Stan! Mabel?!” A beat of silence, then muttered cursing “RICK!?” Well that wasn’t good. If Ford was actually looking for Rick to help him, then there was definitely something wrong. 

“Morty,” Summer called his name, looking at him in concern. “What’s going on over there,” she asked. The boy could only shrug. 

“I-I don’t know! I th-think I should go look into that! I’ll talk to you later,” he said, hearing his sister bid him goodbye and remind him that they were not done talking about what he’d said earlier as he slammed the lid of his laptop closed. “Ah.. Mis--Mister Pines,” he called out as he stood up and hesitantly moved toward the kitchen. “I-Is everything alright?” 

The man was leaning over the table, a look that almost spoke of horror plastered on his face. He was hunched over a lump of fur, that on closer inspection, looked more like an animal, albeit a strange one. From where Morty stood it looked like an extremely small, white fox. But then it twitched, and moved, drunkenly getting onto it’s feet and letting out a few chirping squeaks. As it sat on its haunches, it revealed that while it did have a foxish face and a bushy tail that was ringed with dark brown at the end, it had a squirrel-like body. 

“Uh… Where--Where’s Dipper,” the boy asked cautiously. The fox-squirrel-thing jerked its head around to look at him and chirped again. Ford’s shoulders seemed to droop and he looked solemnly in Morty’s direction and then back down at the creature on the table, without saying a word. The sense of unease in Morty’s gut intensified and he looked down at the little fox-squirrel thing that was staring at him. It had flecks of brown fur all over it’s chest and to the young man’s increasing dismay, there were a few more prominent flecks that formed a very familiar shape. “Oh God. Please, please, please d-don’t tell me that’s Di-Dipper,” he squeaked. 

“This was not how I intended today to go,” Ford finally said in his defense, though he still hunched his shoulders up in embarrassment as he sank down in a chair. He watched as the creature--Dipper-- weaved across the table and then latched onto Morty’s arm and tried to climb up it, only to fall back down on the table with a squeak. “We were just going to study some Fairy Rings out in the woods, just to see if it was worth putting any stock in them. I don’t have much information on Fairies yet but considering everything else I’ve seen in Gravity Falls, I wouldn’t be surprised if they existed. If you were curious, they do, and they are very protective of those Fairy Rings.” 

“Wh-what,” Morty yelped, picking Dipper up as he started trying to climb him again. The little thing chittered as he cradled him against his chest. “Wh-why is he l-like this, though?! You--You know your brother is going to be so pissed! Mabel is going to kill you!” 

“Well they turned him into whatever that is. I think they were trying to hit me but Dipper got in the way,” Ford admitted, dragging one of his journals out from under his trench coat and scribbling something down. “It’s fascinating, really! I’d had some interaction with Fairies before, of course, but they are notoriously hard to track and observe. However, Fairy Rings are known to be gathering places or portals to their world. They must be something important at any rate. I’ve never seen so many at once! Or seen them be so aggressive!” As he rambled on, Morty’s eye started to twitch. 

“NOT THAT YOU--YOU MANIAC! I-I’m not stupid! I could guess th-they turned him into this thing! I meant why--why--why is he warbling around like he’s drugged!!” It wasn’t often the young man shouted about _anything_ much less in anger. Ford jerked his head up from his notes, suitably shocked by the outburst. 

“Oh! Of--Of course! I um… I may have had to give him a mild sedative when he started to panic and crawl all over me. Those little claws hurt,” the man said, lifting a hand to touch a particularly deep gouge in his cheek. 

Morty took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Dipper started to do something that sounded a little like purring. It left him vibrating in the young man’s hands It was oddly soothing. Distressed as he was by the current turn of events, Morty couldn’t help but find the small ball of fluff he was holding onto cute. If only it wasn’t his friend. His typically very human friend. 

“W-Well how are we going to fix him,” he demanded, stroking his thumb over Dipper’s furry, little side. Ford hummed, steepling his fingers and resting his chin on his thumbs. 

“I can’t be entirely sure. We’ll have to do a few experiments,” at the boy’s look of terror, he raised his hands placatingly. “I don’t mean on him. But there are things to account for. I have technology that will change his size but as of yet nothing that will change anything from animal to human! Especially since it seems’ he’s lost a great deal of density or something. If all of his body mass was there, he should be just as heavy even if he’s much smaller.” 

With a sigh, Dipper’s chosen handler sighed and dropped down in his own chair across from the scientist who had started writing again. However instead of writing in his book he was scribbling on a napkin, mumbling about density, mass, and magic. Morty had a feeling that until they knew more about Fairies, Ford wasn’t going to have an easy job of turning Dipper back to his original state. Unfortunately, he didn’t think that was going to happen before Rick, Stan, and Mabel got home. 

As if she had read his mind, Dipper’s backpack started to blast music, some BABBA song that he had they both knew to be Mabel’s ringtone. Panicked Ford and Morty looked at each other, and then the bag where it had been dropped by the table. With how they acted, one would have thought it contained some sort of terrifying beast instead of a sixteen-year-old’s phone and whatever else Dipper kept in there. The both of them held their breath until the phone stopped ringing. No sooner had they let out twin sighs of relief, did the phone start to ring again. It almost seemed louder the second time.

Reluctantly, Ford dragged the bag over and then flipped open the top of it. By the time he found the phone, it had started playing the pop song for the third time. Much to their surprise, when the older man finally answered it, the voice yelling at them from the other end was not Mabel. 

“W-what the fuck took you so long? Fuck it. Doesn’t m-matter. We’re skipping town for a few days,” Rick barked. Even Morty could hear his voice. Ford’s eyebrows crept up toward his hairline and he frowned. “Things got a little out of hand w-when we got Blondie’s stuff.” 

“What do you mean you’re skipping town for a few days! How did things get out of hand!?” Ford stood from the table, pacing in front of the kitchen sink, obviously worried. Morty cringed a little. He could think of a few ways things could get out of hand. He just wondered if they were fleeing to another state or another dimension. 

“Don’t--Don’t worry about it. W-we’ll tell you about it later. Stan, fuu-ugh--fucking keep the car steady. You used to be a lot better at this!” Stan’s voice came through muffled, but most certainly shouting at the blue-haired man. “I-I’ll call you when w-we get back into town.” 

And with that, the call ended. Well… at least they had some time to fix Dipper, now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morty takes matters into his own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I had uploaded this once already but things kept getting moved around in the process of copying and pasting? Idk every time I did it things were a little more fucked up. So I ended up having to re-write part of this entirely. HOPEFULLY IT WORKS THIS TIME!

Something warm and soft was vibrating under Morty’s chin when he woke up the next morning. The day before had been spent watching Dipper while Ford bumped and clunked around in the basement-lab. By the time Morty went to bed, the older man hadn’t seemed any closer to finding out how to fix his nephew. So the younger had carried his unfortunately transformed friend upstairs and made up a small bed for him by stuffing one of Dipper’s pillows into the drawer of his bedside table. Apparently the boy-turned creature had declined to use it, though, because he was draped over Morty’s throat like a scarf. Carefully, Morty scooped Dipper off of him, cupping his hand under the little thing’s belly and gently depositing him into his lap. 

“Good morning to you too,” he yawned, smiling as his animal shaped friend, started to squirm in his lap. He rolled around on his back and dragged his paws over his face. Unable to help himself, Morty scratched between his ears.

The tips of his fingers came back shimmering. Morty had noticed yesterday that Dipper’s fur had been gritty and slightly stiff with what he assumed to be Fairy dust. He was shedding it every where he perched, which thus far, had been on Morty’s shoulders or the back of whatever chair he was in. Morty sincerely hoped that they’d be able to get the other boy back to normal before Mabel and the others got back home. He was entirely certain that she finished cooing over how cute he was, she’d be out for blood. 

“Come on,” Morty said, setting Dipper aside and climbing out of bed. He threw his arms over his head and rolled up onto his tip toes, enjoying the straining feeling in his muscles as he stretched. After shaking himself one last time and sending a small shower of dust over the bed, Dipper scampered over the mattress, leaping onto Morty’s bare shoulder and then onto the dresser. He chirped eagerly, crouching at the edge of the dresser. “Y-yeah. I’m hoping that Ford’s figured something out, too. You--You’re cute and all b-but I liked you better before.” 

He reached out to rub the tip of his finger under his friend’s chin before yanking a yellow shirt out of a drawer and dragging it on, followed by a pair of jeans. As he headed for the bedroom door, Dipper hopped onto his shoulder, hooking his little claws into the boy’s shirt to help keep his balance. They clomped down the stairs, carelessly loud in the near empty house. Not nearly as loud, however, as whatever Ford was doing in the kitchen. There were bangs and crashes, punctuated occasionally by high pitched, mechanical whines. 

That had to mean something good, right? 

As they entered the kitchen, Ford straightened up from the table he’d been working on. Every other piece of furniture in the kitchen had been shoved aside in favor of the metal contraption. It was square in shape, standing about waist high and looking just big enough for someone to sit on it if they wished. The surface looked almost like a circuit board, green with copper patterns etched into it. From the back of it s metal armature arched away from the table and then curved over the top of it, like a scorpion’s tail. Three prongs at the end held a crystal in front of what looked like a small light bulb. All of it seemed to be attached to an old computer set out on the kitchen counter. 

“Good morning, boys,” Ford said, voice chipper despite the dark circles under his eyes. Considering the amount of coffee cups scattered around, like he kept filling the cups and forgetting about them, Morty guessed the man was riding one hell of a caffeine high. 

“Morning, Mr. Pines,” Morty started, only to be cut off before he could get any further. 

“Please, call me Ford! I know I’m generally more serious than my brother but Mr. Pines is just so formal,” the older man said, wrinkling his nose as he went to the refrigerator and grabbed a tomato and tossed it on the thing he had made. 

“Uh.. Okay. Um.. Morning Ford? Is th-this thing supposed to be what turns Dipper Normal again,” Morty asked, cautiously, watching as the scientist leaned over the computer and tapped a few keys. 

“Theoretically, yes. I admit, the whole density and mass issue stumped me for a while, but then I decided to just ignore it entirely. This transmogrifier should be able to read the chemical makeup of whatever is on top of it and then change it,” Ford started, pressing the enter key and watching excitedly as his invention started up with a soft whir. The tomato on the table glowed, then seemed to fall apart entirely before reforming into an entirely different plant with purple flowers and what looked like a few red, egg-shaped berries. “And then the light that shines through the crystal above can grow or shrink the specimen.” 

Before the transmogrifier second stage could be demonstrated, however, the plant that the tomato had been changed into started to twitch and then to tremble. In just a few moments, the thing fell back apart, becoming nothing but a green and red paste that spread over the surface of the transmogrifier and dripped off the edges. Morty gave Ford a horrified look that was mirrored in the pair of big, brown eyes that peered at him from over the top of the young man’s head. 

“There um… are a few kinks that need to be worked out,” Ford admitted, rubbing the back of his head. Morty nodded in agreement as he edged around the device. 

“Well at lea-least it’s a start,” Morty said encouragingly, pulling open the cabinet closest to the fridge and pulling out a box of Fruity Sugar Loops. “I-I’m uh…” he looked around the room. “I’m going to go eat outside. Maybe y-you should get some sleep.” 

Ford grumbled something but seemed to have focused all his attention on his invention once more. Shrugging, Morty headed out the backdoor and let himself drop down on the couch. Dipper chittered, his little animal voice amazingly expressive, considering that no one could really understand what he was saying. He seemed upset, though. After scooping out a handful of cereal and depositing it on the couch for Dipper to pick through, Morty lifted his hand and gently patted the creature on his shoulder. 

“I-I know. I’m di-disappointed too, but he’s at least got th-the start of something,” the young man assured, shoving a handful of cereal into his mouth. Dipper let out a morseful chirp and climbed down from his friend’s shoulder to sit glumly by his pile of food. Even with how down he seemed, it didn’t take long before he was shoving sugary loops into his cheeks. Silence reigned as they ate, with Dipper sulking and Morty staring off into the forest, deep in thought. “Dipper,” he pipped up suddenly, getting his furry friend’s attention and a curious little noise in return. “Do y-you think the Fairies or wh-whatever would change you back if you, like, apologized?” Dipper scoffed. “No j-just hear me out! I-I mean, they were mad about y-you guys disturbing their Fairy Ring. Maybe you j-just need to, I d-don’t know, talk to them? It can’t hurt right?”

Beside him, Dipper looked worried, ears laid back and tail curled around himself as he looked up at his human friend. He chirped quietly, creeping closer to lay one hand-like paw on Morty’s elbow. Going back to bother the things that had turned him into whatever he was didn’t seem like a good idea to him. When the Fairies had spilled from the trees, screaming as he and Ford began investigating the ring of mushrooms, they had been entirely unreasonable. No amount of explaining themselves seemed to do any good. They had only wanted to examine the Ring, maybe get a few samples of mushroom, study it. 

Inside the house, Ford was banging around, cursing. Morty wanted to help but most of the time, when it came to making things like that, he was just in the way. He could take direction fairly well but he didn’t really know what he was doing half the time. Sure he picked up a little from running around and doing things with Rick but he wasn’t a genius like him. Most of the time he didn’t even feel like he was all that smart at all. Still… he wanted to do something. 

“Come on. I-I mean it--it isn’t that bad an idea? If getting turned into an adorable woodland critter is the worst thing that happens, I think it’s worth the risk. If Ford can’t fix us then I-I’m sure that Rick can when he gets back,” Morty insited. Dipper still looked uneasy but he didn’t protest as Morty shoved himself off the couch and ducked back into the house. When he came back out with his shoes on and a backpack, Dipper jumped off the couch and scampered over to his human companion. The boy waited while he scurried up his body and settled back down on his shoulder, a warm and familiar weight at that point. “D-Don’t worry, dude. Th-things will be fine,” Morty assured, lifting the box of Fruity Sugar Loops and smiling as Dipper reached inside and pulled out a piece of cereal to shove in his mouth. 

Things would be fine. He was sure of it.

**********

So far, so good. Dipper had taken to running along the ground, standing out among the pine-needles and vegetation like a speedy, white beacon. Every now and then Morty would lose sight of him as he scurried around tree trunks or ducked under the low-growing plants that were growing more and more prevalent as they continued on. It was on one such occasion that a sharp screech brought the young man up short. For a moment terror welled up inside him. Had something gotten a hold of Dipper? Frantically, he spun around in a circle, looking for any sign of white fur. The screech came again. Jerking his head in the direction that the sound came from, he finally found Dipper. The little guy was clinging to the side of a pine tree and staring fixedly into the distance. Frowning, Morty made his way over to the little creature. 

“Don’t d-do that,” he hissed, gently prying the wee beast from the tree and urging him onto his shoulder. It felt almost like Dipper was getting heavier. “Wh-what’s got your tail in a knot?” Dipper replied by chittering in his ear and leaning in close to Morty’s face. He extended his fur-covered arm forward, pointing toward where he’d been staring. It Took him a moment to see it, but when he did, the lanky teen gasped. “Wow.” 

Up ahead, there was a cluster of mushrooms forming a perfect circle. They were huge, most standing at least to Morty’s waist. One, was missing a good chunk of it’s cap, though. It oozed something thick and silvery. What was truly amazing, though, was the Fairies hovering around it like flies. Had they not been moving, they would have been nearly impossible to see. The Fairy folk seemed to come in all shapes and sizes, mirroring the environment around them. A few were mostly green, with what looked like leaves peeling up off their shoulders and hips. Some were dappled grey and brown like the cherry trees that occasionally showed themselves among the enormous amount of evergreens in the forest. Most of the Fairies, however, looked very similar to the huge cedars surrounding them. Their skin was the same reddish brown and where they would have had their they had the same prickly needles that grew in the trees. 

“Y-you guys tried to cut up one of their mushrooms,” Morty whispered sharply, giving Dipper a narrow eyed look. “I-I mean I don’t know what th-they’re for but they’re obviously important. Wh-why would you--you think cutting them up would be a good idea?” Even as whatever he was, Dipper managed to look contrite and nuzzled against the corner of Morty’s jaw. Rolling his eyes, the young man reached up to scratch under his friend’s chin. “Yeah I know, you’re sorry,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Now… are you ready?” He felt his friend tremble against the side of his neck, obviously not wanting to get any closer. Too bad. Morty took a step forward, leaving the bushes and revealing himself to the wee, winged folk. “Uh.. Hello?” 

For a moment everything was silent then, between one breath and the next, the Fairies started to screech, making Morty jerk back. His feet carried him backward as the creatures buzzed angrily toward him, glowing and leaving trails of shimmering dust in their wake. As his back struck a tree, the young man began to panic and stutter. 

“I-I was just--just wanting to--um--to talk,” he yelped, trying to think of a way to placate the tiny things. He swung his backpack down and started to dig around inside for something anything. “Uh--um.. D-DO YOU--DO YOU WANT SOME FRUITY SUGAR LOOPS!?” In a panic, Morty thrust the box of cereal up between them, hiding behind it. 

Slowly, the screeching stopped, but he didn’t dare move or look at the creatures. It wasn’t until he felt something land on the box, adding just the smallest amount of weight to it, that he chanced a peek. Most of the Fairies were watching cautiously as one of their own went to investigate MOrty’s offering. They sniffed the air over the opening of the box before slowly leaning in and snagging a loop of cereal. Cautiously, they took a bite and then let out a delighted chime-like noise. Soon the other joined the fairy at the box, all of them hovering around the edges and dipping their arms in to pick out their own fruit flavored pieces of cereal. Soon, the sound of bells and chimes started to fill the clearing and all but one of the tiny, humanoid critters were digging through the box. The one that wasn’t, one of the leafy, green Fairies, stared at them from under the curl of a leaf that lifted up off their forehead. 

“What do you want,” they snapped, crossing their arms over their chest as they watched Morty squirm. 

“I-I um… I was just--just wondering if you could turn my friend back to normal,” he said hesitantly, hearing Dipper’s sharp little teeth clicking as he ground them together, nervous. 

“Why should we,” the fairy asked with a scowl, their eyes drifting down to Dipper. “He and the other human were trespassing and destroying our Ring, as well,” they hissed angrily, making Dipper chirp sadly. 

“I-I-I know! But--But--But They’re sorry! Th-they were just--just curious about you, all,” Morty offered weakly, trying to placate the Fairies’ spokeperson.

“Our secrets are our own,” they barked, making Morty flinch. 

“Alright! W-well I-I promise to keep him from bothering you again,” Morty offered desperately, not thinking that it would do much but hoping deep down that they would consider changing their minds. Or at least not turn him into anything before they left. Dipper chirped softly, and the Fairy looked suspiciously between the two of them, dark eyes narrowed to tiny slits. Finally, they hummed and reached into the box for a piece of cereal. 

“We won’t change him back,” they declared, a chorus of chimes followed. “But! We will point you in the direction of someone who will… if you can find them.” The Fairie’s smiled sharply. “All you have to do is vow to keep your promise, and give us this stuff,” they said, shaking the box. 

“Alright! W-will do! Take it all,” he said eagerly, carefully putting the box on the ground. The fairies swarmed cardboard container, some even seemed to be coming out of hiding to investigate it. “Wh-Who do we have to find?” 

“You must find Nuin,” the leafy Fairy said, the only one not trying to tear the box to pieces to get into the cereal inside. “Legend says that anyone who can find her gets to ask for something. I don’t see why you couldn’t ask to have your friend back,” they hummed, slowly sinking down into the fray of their kinfolk below. “She lies Northeast of here. Good luck, human.” 

Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Morty started to back off, dragging his backpack with him. Once they were once more out of sight of the Fairy Ring he grinned. He knew going to talk with the Fairies would be a decent idea. Crouching down behind the cover of the bushes, he started to dig around in the backpack he’d snitched from Dipper’s side of the room. It took a moment of searching but just as expected there was a compass. 

“Don’t worry D-Dipper. We-we’re going to get you back to normal,” Morty assured, smiling as Dipper let out an excited little noise, sort of like a mix between a purr and a squeak. 

As they got their bearings and started off in the direction they had been given, the Fairies watched. Their spokesperson snorted as the boys left, shaking their head. Humans were so stupid.


	3. Wisped Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter the giant woman.

Morty was exhausted and covered in dirt, leaves, and regret. He felt like he’d been walking for days already. Which, wouldn’t have been so bad if not for a few factors; like the muggy summer heat that managed to reach them, even through the near impenetrable shade cast by the trees around them. There was also the creatures that roamed the forest. They weren’t all bad. Plenty were just normal things like squirrels and birds. Even most of the more mythical ones they ran into had been more likely to take off than to attack. Some had even been friendly, like the water nymphs who had giggled and waved at them from a stream they passed, while the hovering satyrs cast mischievous at them from over the tops of their pan flutes. 

However, there had been more harmful beasts as well, like the herd of strange pygmy deer that had chased them until both Dipper _and_ Morty had been forced to hide up a tree and wait until they lost interested. The things had resembled baby deer, light brown and dusted with spots. Then one of them had unhinged it’s jaw and swallowed an unfortunate raccoon whole. By the time that they left the sun had started to set, quickly casting the forest in darkness. 

It didn’t stop the boys, though. Flashlight in hand they had continued onward, because they had to be closer to their goal than they were to home… Right? 

“Di-Dipper. I-I may have messed up. This--this could be a bad idea after all,” Morty groaned tiredly. On his shoulder, Dipper chirped encouragingly. It seemed like he’d been getting heavier with every step he took. Surely he was just getting tired, though. Looking down at the compass he had kept clutched in his hand, the young man watched the needle swing slightly to the left and adjusted his course. Focused as he was, Morty didn’t have a single clue about the half buried tree root in his path until he found himself face down on the forest floor with a mouth full of dirt. “Oh God,” he groaned, not even bothering to get up. 

He felt a pair of itty, bitty, hand-like paws on top of his head after a moment of laying face down on the ground. Dipper chattered worriedly, grabbing little fistfuls of hair and tugging until Morty let his head be turned to the side. The young man felt a little hopeless… and stupid. Why had he thought that going off to talk to the Fairies would be a good idea? Why hadn’t he just assumed that since he had come up with the plan, it would be a bad one? Dipper was still looked like a mythical ferret and all they’d really done was go on a wild fuckng goose chase! The fairies had probably just lied to them to begin with and he had been dumb enough to believe them. Sighing, he lifted his head just a bit and then banged it back onto the ground. _Stupid_.

Dipper let out a shrill noise of dismay and hopped on top of his friend’s head. Chittering a mile a minute. Morty didn’t even feel like trying to guess at what he was trying to say. Along with his despair, it felt as though Dipper was crushing his skull. Grunting, he lifted a hand and shoved the furry, little guy off. Lifting his head, he frowned. 

“Sorry, man but--but I’m tired and y-you feel like you weigh a ton compared to earlier,” he said, smiling a little when Dipper gave him a sad look and crept forward to put his paws on his cheeks. Making a soft little purring noise that ended in a high pitched chirp, Dipper patted Morty’s face encouragingly and hopped forward to butt their heads together. “Y-you’re so cute it makes me sick.” 

As the last of the light slipped away from them, Morty rolled onto his back, looking up at the tree limbs that arched above him. He couldn’t see even a little of the sky. It looked like they were spending the night in the woods… not that they were in any way prepared for that. Crawling from his self pity, the young man sat up and started to go through Dipper’s bag. _Rope, notebook, pens, a change of clothes, gloves, specimen containers, binoculars, camera, granola bars, water bottle, a knife._ Very handy for a one-day adventure. Not so much for a camping trip. 

“Looks like it’s granola for dinner,” he said, pulling out a bar for himself and tearing another open for Dipper. After finishing most of a bottle of water, he took the knife from their pack and sliced the bottle in half, making it easier for his fine, furry friend to get himself a drink. 

They ate in silence, letting themselves be devoured by the darkness. And then, when there was nothing left to do, Morty shoved the pack up against the bottom of a tree, laying his head on it as he curled up beneath the behemoth's branches. Despite their situation, a small smile touched the young man’s lips as he felt Dipper tucking himself under his chin. He cupped a hand around him, gently stroking his fingers over soft, plush fur. They would go home in the morning. 

“It’s going to be okay, Dipper,” Morty mumbled tiredly, tilting his head down to press his face into his companion’s side. Before sleep completely claimed him, he felt a tiny, wet nose press against the sensitive skin behind his ear. Everything was going to be fine.

*********

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed before he woke to Dipper’s chattering. Morty didn’t think it felt like nearly enough. Groaning pitifully, he rolled onto his back. He almost managed to fall back asleep, but then Dipper’s chattering turned into something of a screech and he felt his friend bounce once on the center of his chest and his eyes snapped back open as he gasped. Tiny as the creature was, he felt impossibly heavier compared to how weightless he had been when Ford first brought him home. There was enough substance to him now that when he hopped on top of Morty it had actually hurt!

“Oh God,” he wheezed, sitting up and rubbing circles into his breastbone. “What-what the fuck, Dipper?!” Morty lifted his head, trying to find Dipper in the darkness so he could glare at him. It took him a moment to realize that it wasn’t quite so dark anymore. “Wh-what the fuck?” 

Dipper was standing on his hind legs, stretching up into the air with his front paws and chirping. Directly above his head was a faintly glowing ball of light, unlike anything Morty had ever seen before. Everything was tinted silver and bathed in soft, blue and white light that came from the slowly drifting orbs floating overhead. Whispers gently filled the air, making the young man’s skin crawl with how suddenly alive the night felt.  
With an aggravated shriek, Dipper dropped down onto all fours again and darted to the backpack. He dove inside, rustling around for a moment and then backing back out with the strap of his camera clamped firmly in his teeth. For a squirrel-fox-thing, he was surprisingly efficient with the device, managing to turn at least. Though, he was struggling to try and angle the thing with his under-sized body. Huffing, Morty reached out and took snatched the camera away from his friend who chittered angrily and launched himself onto the boy’s arm, claws digging into his skin as he climbed up his shoulder. 

“Ow, ow, ow! Stop! I-I didn’t want y-you to use the flash! Th-that’s all,” Morty shook Dipper off, protesting as he fiddled with the technology in his hands. For a moment, as Dipper had struggled with the thing, he had been sure that the flash would go off and scare away their beautiful visitors. Really, he didn’t see the need to take a picture. Some moments were made to simply be experienced. Still, knowing it would make his friend happy, he snapped a couple pictures of the orbs before slowly standing up. 

While the whispy things moved out of his way, they didn’t flee. Two of them had even made a circuit around his head, whispered giggles caressing his ears as they flew past. As he looked around, Morty realized that there were veins of the orbs that floated through the woods, looking like strings of fairy lights that all seemed to converge at a single point, further into the trees. He felt a weight at the bottom of his jeans, looking down to see Dipper staring up at him and one paw pulling on the hem of his pants. 

“Th-think we should follow them,” Morty asked with a grin as excitement thrummed through him. Dipper, even in his current form, seemed to light up, chirping once before taking off. Laughing, Morty scooped up their pack and took off after him. 

They ran, following the trail of wisps, through the trees. Morty felt like he was in a dream, hardly feeling it as his feet pounded against the ground of the well worn deer-trail. Every now and then, from the corner of his eyes, he saw things running with them. Dark, hulking shapes that were streaked and dotted with bioluminescence. There eyes glinted silver and gold in the faint light as they turned their heads to look at him, yet they inspired no fear. The whispers grew into a velvety roar in his ears, urging him to run faster, and faster, and faster.

Until he and Dipper burst from the treeline.

The clearing they ended up in was lit up with wisps from where they crowded around the branches of a tree standing in its center. It was unlike any of the ones that Morty had seen in Gravity Falls thus far. Primarily the forests were made up of massive, cedars. The tree before them, while equally huge, was covered in brown-grey bark that grew in a diamond shaped pattern. Instead of needles, it had flat oval leaves that ended in pointed tips. It as beautiful. 

“Wow,” Morty panted as he stared up at the giant tree. It seemed as if it went on forever, growing up so high that it would pierce the sky. A steady thrum started to fill the air, making Morty feel as though every bone in his body was vibrating.

What came next seemed to happen so slowly that Morty almost didn’t notice it happening. Two knots near the center of the tree started to morph, ever so slightly. The bark parted in a thin line that then opened, revealing something black, shiney, and endless staring down at the boy and his shape-shifted friend. In the same snail-worthy pace, the bark around the new additions to the tree started to bulge. Protrusions continued to form all the way down the length of the tree, making both Morty and Dipper take uneasy steps backward. All the lumps and bumps crept up out of the tree in the shape of a woman. 

She stepped from the tree, a benevolent giantess that peered down at the duo with her huge, black eyes. A smile graced her face and she carefully took a knee, kneeling before the boys. Her skin was a dark grey-brown, striped with pale silvery marks, similar to the color of the tree’s bark that she emerged from. Tight, platinum curls fell from her head, bouncing as she cocked her head to the side. 

“So you’ve found me, young travelers,” she boomed, her voice heavy and feminine. It sounded ancient as it filled the clearing. Wisps darted toward her, circling her face and diving playfully into the thick rings of hair. “What is it that you want, then?” 

“Are you--are you Nuin,” Morty stuttered, almost fearful. The giant woman nodded, watching him with her unreadable black eyes. “I-I-I…You--you’re… Wow.” His speechlessness made her laugh. He felt heat rise in his cheeks and took a deep breath, attempting to steady himself. “Some Fairies sent us to y-you. Th-They said you--you could change him back,” He said, motioning to Dipper who was staring up at the woman, slackjawed. 

“I can,” she said, sounding amused by the situation. “Tis a simple task,” Nuin admitted as she reached out one massive hand and stroked one finger gently down Dipper’s back. 

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, in a dramatic puff of smoke, Dipper was there in all his glory, very human and very naked. He was crouched on the ground and it appeared to take him a minute to realize that he had changed; but when he did, the young man yelped and jumped to his feet, a flush filling his cheeks and overflowing to his ears and chest as he covered himself. With a blush of his own, Morty shoved the pack into the boy’s chest. Catching it, Dipper spun around quickly, muttering to himself as he wandered off a ways and started to frantically pull on his clothes. 

“Now what of you,” Nuin asked, directing her attention to Morty who simply blinked at her stupidly. He hadn’t wanted anything. All he wanted was to have his friend back in his original shape. What more could he need? 

“Me?! I-I don’t want anything! I mean you--you gave me wh-what I wanted. I just--just wanted Dipper back to normal,” Morty yelped, lifting his hand to rub at the back of his neck and taking an uncertain step backward. “I-I don’t need anything.” 

“Selfless,” the giantess said with a smile, she leaned forward, planting a hand on either side of the young man. “If you will not give me a request, I will bestow upon you, a gift.” And with that, she lowered her head and planted a gentle kiss upon the crown of his head. 

Instantly, light lanced through Morty’s skull and he felt as though he was falling. The last thing he heard was Dipper’s voice.

“MORTY!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter was a little short but also like this is where it needed to end. Stay tuned to see what's up with Morty!


	4. I See Him Coming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morty is not safe and sound in his bed, and there's no visions of sugar plumbs dancing in his head.

Nothingness enveloped him as Morty fell. He screamed she tumbled end over end through the seemingly endless blank space But, despite the straining burn he could feel in his throat, there was no sound. He couldn’t even feel the wind whipping past, even with his shirt billowing around him. For a far as he could see there was just whiteness that seemed to stretch on forever. Until, ever so slowly, strings of color started to cut through it all. 

They caught on his arms, his legs, beautiful threads that looked as though they contained universes all their own. The dark strands swirled with sparking blues, yellows, purples, and shot through with twinkling stars. Morty struggled against them as the strands seem to multiply, going from a few streaks cutting through the darkness to a bevy of the brilliant fibers. Soon it was all he could see. The whiteness had disappeared entirely and a ringing started up in his ears. 

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,” he muttered, his voice sounding as though it was muffled and miles away. 

The strands that had wrapped themselves around his flailing arms and legs began to gently squeeze him. However, their hold grew tighter and tighter, until they were biting into his flesh. There was no pain, despite the blood that began to well up around the hair thin filaments, only a steady and increasing pressure. He felt a pop around his left elbow and suddenly his forearm was gone. Piece by piece, he felt himself popping apart, like a doll having its arms and legs ripped off. Feeling the strands wrap around his neck, he couldn’t stop himself from screaming in terror. Another pop, and he was left as just a head, spinning through the wavering space-like scenery until it all faded to black. 

Gradually, his gourd stopped rotating, and as it did his body returned, spinning into place beneath him. Each piece clicked back into place like a puzzle, leaving him standing in complete darkness. With a snap, a light burst into being, trapping him in a cone of warm, yellowish light. But he wasn’t alone. At his feet, was Mabel, staring vacantly at his feet as she knelt on the ground. She looked the same as ever, yet nothing like herself. Instead of being wrapped in one of her customary sweaters, she was naked; hiding behind nothing but long waves of brown hair. The girl looked so vulnerable and small in a way that her typical vibrancy would usually never allow. 

“Mabel,” Morty yelped, voice warbled and echoing in the gloom. 

He fell to his knees in front of her, reaching out to cup her cheeks with his hands and lift her head. Her eyes seemed almost dead, mouth slick and slightly agape. She didn’t move as he touched her face, shoulders, trying to get her to really look at him. He called her name again… and again, and again, and again, getting louder and louder each time. Sobbing, he held her shoulders in a bruising grip, shaking her back and forth so hard that her head would fall forward and then swing back, exposing her tender looking throat. 

“Oh God, Mabel. Wh-what the fuck i-is going on,” he shouted, praying that she’d answer him. All she did was stare up at the light above them. At her continued silence, he let out a strangled sounding wail and let his head fall forward, resting on her bare shoulder. Morty cried into her sweet smelling hair, despair and fear tearing through him unchecked.

Then her hands were on his elbows, traveling up his arms and then curling around his shoulders. One of them cupped the back of his head, her fingers digging into his hair. With the touch came the faintest stirrings of hope. He felt her neck move against his cheek as she moved her head, gently pressing her cheek into the top of his. 

“Shh, shh, shh. It’s okay,” she murmured kindly, her voice soft but clear, far clearer than his own that came out distorted and strange whenever he tried to speak.

“Mabel, we--we have to get out of th-this place,” he insisted, lifting his head and leaning away from the girl so that he could look her in the face. “I-I-I don’t know w-what happened! I was--I was with Dipper and… and… Mabel?” 

His voice slowly trailed off as he looked at her, she was looking toward him, but not at him. Even as her fingers stroked through his hair, her eyes were vacant, empty. And, much to his dismay, her nose was bleeding. He reached up to touch her face, run a thumb under her nose in an attempt to wipe away the blood. All he managed, however, was to smear it across her face as her nose started to bleed more profusely. 

“I can hear them. I see them.” As she smiled, blood dripped into her mouth and coated her teeth. It painted a disturbing picture. Morty wanted to cringe back but he felt as though he was frozen, watching her. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and her face dropped from the eerie smile to one of abject horror. “Oh God… Oh God,” she whimpered, whipping her head around like she could see something he couldn’t. The whimpering turned to screams and her hands fluttered away from his body as she started to claw at her face. Morty could see her skin bunching up under her nails as she gouged her cheeks, looking frantically into the darkness. Her eyes caught his and she lunged forward, curling her hands desperately into his shirt. “Morty! He’s coming! He’s coming,” she screeched. 

“Mabel! Wh-what? Wh-who-who,” he stuttered, struggling to get the words out as she started to scream and sob once more. 

All at once, pools of light started to appear around them, illuminating a horrific scene. There were bodies everywhere. It looked like the entire population of Gravity Falls had been strewn about the room. They had been torn apart, tossed around like ruined, childhood toys. It was those that lay around them that was the most terrible, though. 

Pacifica was to the left, a long, jagged cut lead from her throat to her stomach split her open. Her organs blossomed from her midsection, spilling out on either side. Stan and Rick were to the right, Staring at each other with cold, lifeless eyes. Compared to the others, Rick’s death seemed the most simple, a knife stuck out of his chest, dying his blue shirt and white lab coat red. Stan’s end had been more gruesome, he looked almost normal until Morty’s gaze landed on the back of his head. It had been fairly well crushed. The young man felt like he was going to throw up, seeing the way the back of his skull seemed to have crumbled open and blood pooled around his head in a perverse halo. Mabel hunched over as she cried and he was able to see Dipper behind her, his head lay at an odd angle and his neck was ringed with black and blue bruises. 

“Mabel what have you done,” A voice asked from behind them. Scrambling around on his knees, Morty turned to see Ford. He was ran through by black, iron pikes, and pinned to a narrow, earthen wall that jutted up from the ground. 

At his question, Mabel’s screaming wails started to morph into blood chilling cackles. 

She jerked her head up, looking feral with her tousled hair and the blood dripping from her face. Wordlessly, she bore her teeth in a wretched grin. Her usually warm, soulful brown eyes were glowing red with diamond shaped pupils that made a jolt of horror cut through Morty. A loud, sadistically gleeful voice started to bounce around them as he scrambled back toward where Ford was pinned up. 

“Oh, she’s the least of your worries, Smarty Pants,” In the darkness that still existed outside the patches of light, eyes started to appear, huge and yellow with slit pupils. “I’m coming back to finish what I started Poindexter! And this time, I’m not letting anyone get in my way!” 

The ringing in Morty’s ears started up again as the voice started to laugh. He watched, helpless as Mabel focused her gaze on him. She lunged, shoving him onto his back and straddling his waist. Her hands curled into his hair, claw like and cruel as she started to bang his head on the ground. Each pound shook through his skull, still what should have hurt didn’t cause him a single bit of pain. It was terrifying, though, to watch the girl he’d come to care for so much, grinning and cackling as she bashed his skull off the floor. One of her hands latched onto his throat and squeezed. The ringing in his ears got louder and louder as his lungs began to burn. The pressure in his chest built as he continued to gasp for breath, until finally, it burst. 

Morty felt himself explode into a million pieces and everything went dark again.

*******

“Hey there, sleepy head. Welcome back,” Dipper’s voice was gentle as he spoke, but still, Morty jerked up from where he was laying on the ground. He looked around, panicked. “Woah-ho, there. You alright?”

They were still at the tree. The fucking tree that the giant woman had come out of. Instead of a nighttime scene, lit up by wisps, the early light of morning was slanting through the trees, cutting it’s way through the scarce paths the branches made so that it could dapple the ground with shadows. And Dipper. He wasn’t dead. He wasn’t a squirrel-fox-thing. Everything was fine. A short, absurd laugh busted it’s way out of Morty’s mouth and the boy clapped his hand over it, trying to hold the insane giggles that followed in. They were fine. No one was dead. Everything was okay. Everything was okay!!

Dipper looked at him cautiously. 

“You were out for a while. I tried to figure out what Nuin, the tree lady, what she had done to you but she just kept giving me cryptic answers about how someone needed to see? Are you alright,” he asked carefully. 

Morty looked at him eyes holding a slightly manic tint to them. Without any warning, the lanky teen launched himself at his friend, wrapping the shorter boy in a tight hug. He pressed his face into Dipper’s neck, his laughter turning into something like a quiet sob. Slowly, Dipper lifted his arms and wrapped Morty in a hug, mirroring the one he had received from Mabel in his dream? Vision? 

“Y-y-you’re not dead,” the boy gasped, jerking back to meet Dipper’s unsure, worried gaze. “You-you-you were dead. Everyone w-was dead. Mabel, she killed everyone,” he tried to explain, through his tears. Sniffling, the young man reached up and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. “I-I-I d-don’t think it was her, though? I d-don’t know. We-we need to talk to Ford, or Rick, probably both of them, really.” 

“Okay, okay,” Dipper said, frowning as he looked at the other boy. With a quiet grunt he shoved himself up from where they’d been kneeling in the grass, and offered a hand to his companion. “Let’s head back and on the way you can explain everything you saw, alright? We should be heading back anyway. I bet Ford is losing his mind right now.” 

Morty nodded slowly and took Dipper’s hand, hauling himself up. Even once he’d gotten to his feet and they were heading back into the woods, toward the shack, he didn’t let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knoooooow this chapter was short and maybe not a satisfying ending but if you've been reading along as I've written this series you know we're going to spend a few days with Mabel, Pacifica, Rick, and Stan. Then we'll get back to this. Once we get everyone back together we'll find out why the Fairies think humans are so stupid. My only regret is I couldn't find a way to fit the scene explaining that into this fic because I went and let things get all dark and shit.

**Author's Note:**

> don't be afraid to let me know about typos, just be gentle with me.


End file.
